UPDATED 8/6/19, 7:40 p.m. ET: Tyler, the Creator's New Zealand ban has also been lifted, according to Stuff.
He'll be performing at Bay Dreams music festival in January. Immigration officials have reportedly said that Tyler "is no longer deemed to be a potential threat to public order and the public interest."
"I got banned from New Zealand, whitey called me a demon/And a terrorist, God damn it, I couldn’t believe it," Tyler rapped on the Cherry Bomb track "Smuckers."
See original story below.
Tyler, the Creator is returning to Australia for the first time since the feminist group Collective Shout prompted him to abruptly cancel a scheduled performance. The IGOR artist is scheduled to headline the Wildlands Festival in Brisbane in December.
As part of his Cherry Bomb World Tour in 2015, the then-24-year-old Tyler was headed to Brisbane and Sydney when Collective Shout campaigned for the Australian government to deny him entry. The group launched a petition that July, ahead of his September performance, asking immigration minister Peter Dutton to reject Tyler's visa over misogynist lyrics including references to rape and violence against women.
According to The Guardian, Tyler directed a rant at Collective Shout activist Talitha Stone during a 2013 performance. The group alleged that footage of the rapper/producer's tirade led to the cancellation of his 2014 performance at the Rapture festival in Auckland, New Zealand, which he references in the Kanye and Lil-Wayne-assisted track "Smuckers." He also addressed the controversy in the song "Fuck It," rapping: "Tell Australia I'm sneaking in with a mic in my damn hand."
Before the Australian government decided on Tyler's visa, he tweeted at Collective Shout's director of operations, "T IS NOW BANNED FROM AUSTRALIA, YOU WON."
When announcing the cancellation in 2015, Tyler told his fans he would "much rather come to Australia when it isn’t surrounded in controversy,” and said he would be back soon. “I love my fans,” he added. “Don’t do drugs.”
Since 2015, Tyler has released two critically acclaimed albums, Flower Boy and IGOR. He has yet to formally address his return to the country. The music fest's organizers have confirmed to Triple J that Tyler's visas have all been confirmed.
Wildlands will be held at the Brisbane Showgrounds on Dec. 28, and will include the talents of RÜFÜS DU SOL, Ella Mai, RL Grime, and more. See the full lineup here.
